ANTHRO 305 THE CELTIC WORLD Fall 2012 M 5:30-8:10 SAB G90
INSTRUCTOR: Professor Bettina Arnold OFFICE: Sabin 229 TEL: 229-4583
HOURS: M 2:00-4:00 or by appointment
E-mail: Class Reflector:
On-line course syllabus:
READINGS: There isONE textbooks for this course:
James, Simon 1993 (2005 ed.) The World of the Celts. London: Thames and Hudson. Pb $24.95
Course Reader: Golda Meier Library Electronic Reserve
Access: See
Selections from:
Collis, John 2003 The Celts: Origins, Myths, Inventions. Stroud: Tempus.
Cunliffe, Barry 1997 The Ancient Celts. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Darvill, Timothy 1996 Prehistoric Britain. London: Routledge.
Davies, John 1994 (2007 ed.) A History of Wales. London: Penguin.
Green, Miranda (ed.) 1995 The Celtic World. London: Routledge.
James, Simon 1999 The Atlantic Celts: Ancient People or Modern Invention. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
King, John 2000 Kingdoms of the Celts. London: Blandford.
McCaffrey, Carmel and Leo Eaton 2003 In Search of Ancient Ireland: From Neolithic Times to the Coming of the English. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee.
Moscati, Sabatino (ed.) 1991 The Celts. Venice: Bompiani.
Pennick, Nigel 1996 Celtic Sacred Landscapes. London: Thames and Hudson.
Raftery, Barry 1994 Pagan Celtic Ireland. London: Thames and Hudson.
Rees, Alwyn and Brinley Rees 1989 Celtic Heritage. London: Thames and Hudson.
Tanner, Marcus 2004 The Last of the Celts. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Wells, Peter S. 1981 The Emergence of an Iron Age Economy: The Mecklenburg Grave Groups from Hallstatt and Stična. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Make use of these citations when referring to these readings in your written work!
COURSE DESCRIPTION:The Celtic-speaking peoples of continental Europe and the British Isles have left us a rich archaeological, historical and mythological record. During the pre-Roman Iron Age the remains of their settlements and burial grounds can be found from Spain to the Black Sea, one of the reasons that they have recently become a focus of research funded by the European Community. This course will trace the archaeological beginnings of the Celtic tradition from its late Neolithic/early Bronze Age roots to the western-most outposts of the Celtic world in the British Isles. From fabulous gold jewelry to mysterious bog bodies, the archaeology of the ancient Celts has it all! We will explore this legacy through the archaeological, historical and literary records, with reference to sites, monuments and written texts from the Mediterranean world and the British Isles. The course will also explore the historical and political construction of the concept of “the Celts”, which has become the metaphor for the emerging, and contested, European community. How is ethnicity defined, appropriated, debated? Various nationalist movements, including those in Wales and Ireland, make use of the Celts as a vehicle for their contemporary concerns. The course will consider the notion of “Celticity” in the post-industrial era as well as its prehistoric roots.
EVALUATION AND GRADING:
Undergraduates
1. Midterm: 40% of grade
2. Final: 40% of grade
3. Short Paper: 15% of grade
Students will be expected to read all material, but must cite at least TEN sources from the e-Reserve Course Reader in their 10 pp. minimum Short Paper. See attached guide to preparing short papers. Penalty for late papers: One full point per day.
4. Attendance: 5% of grade
5. Extra Credit: Up to 3 points for attending public lectures on archaeological topics or a Center for Celtic Studies event during the semester. See these Web sites for lecture days and times:
Center for Celtic Studies:
AIA (Archaeological Institute of America):
WAS (Wisconsin Archaeological Society):
Graduate Students
1. Midterm:20%
2. Final:20%
3. Two short papers (5 pages minimum):20% of grade
You must cite a minimum of TEN sources, at least THREE of which must be library sources (not counting citations from e-Reserve or textbook reading). Penalty for late papers: One full point per day.
4. Final paper (20 pages minimum): 40% of grade
Choose one of the short paper topics and expand it, or you may choose a different course topic for the final paper. Be sure to include any references not assigned as class reading in your bibliography.
4. Extra Credit: Up to 3 points for attending public lectures on archaeological topics or a Center for Celtic Studies event during the semester. (See URLs above.)
For University policies regarding academic misconduct, please see
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Course Topics, Readings and Paper Due Dates
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NOTE: The first class meets on September 10!
Sept. 3-10Origins: Who Were the Celts?/Who Are the Celts?
James Chs. 1-2
E-Reserve: James Chs. 1-3; Collis Ch. 1; King Ch. 1
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Sept. 17-24Hallstatt Period: The Early Continental Celts
James Chs. 3-5
McCaffrey and Eaton Chs. 1 and 2
E-Reserve: Collis Ch. 7; Wells; Moscati volume [Frey, Mohen]
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Oct. 1-8La Tène Period: New Horizons I
James Ch. 7
Davies Ch. 1
McCaffrey and Eaton Ch. 3
E-Reserve: Moscati volume [Frey]; Darville Ch. 6
*Graduate StudentShortPaper #1 due October 8!*
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Oct. 15-22La Tène Period: New Horizons II
James Ch. 8
Davies Ch. 2
E-Reserve: Darville Ch. 7; Arnold 1996; Megaw & Megaw 1995;
Lloyd-Morgan 1995; Ritchie & Ritchie 1995
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Oct. 29-Nov. 5Ritual and Ideology: Death and the Otherworld
James Ch. 6
McCaffrey and Eaton Ch. 4
E-Reserve: King Ch. 2; Arnold 2001; Cunliffe Ch. 10
MIDTERM EXAM October 29!!
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Nov. 12-Nov. 19Celts of the British Isles Part I: Ireland
James Ch. 9
McCaffrey and Eaton Chs. 5-7
E-Reserve: King Chs. 5 & 11; Green volume [Raftery,
MacCana]
*Graduate Student ShortPaper #2 Due November 12!*
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Nov.26-Dec. 3Celts of the British Isles Part II: Wales and Scotland
James Ch. 10
Davies Chs. 3-5
McCaffrey and Eaton Chs. 8-9
E-Reserve: Green volume [Davies; MacKie]; Tanner Ch. 7
*Undergraduate Papers due November 26!*
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Dec. 10Celtic Survival
James Ch. 11
Davies Chs. 6-10
McCaffrey and Eaton Chs. 10-12
E-Reserve: Green volume [Lloyd]; James Chs. 5 & 6; Dietler
1994; Tanner Ch. 9
*Graduate Student Final Paper Due by 5pm on DECEMBER 16!*
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Dec. 17FINAL EXAM MONDAY DECEMBER 17 5:30-7:30pm
PAPER GUIDELINES[1]
1. Papers must be typed (computer or typewriter).
2. Paginate all pages beginning with Page 2!
3. Papers must be double-spaced. (I also need to be able to write comments in the margins, so make sure these are 1" all around, no more, no less.)
4. You are expected to explore your topic further in written form. This includes a) citations from the reading and b) original ideas/thoughts/opinions, backed up by cogent arguments.
5. You must cite at least TEN sources in constructing your argument. Think critically! This involves more than simply shooting holes in someone else's theory or approach. Demonstrate that you are able to see more than one side of an issue. Suggest possible directions for future research, or questions the sources you cite have raised but may not explicitly address.
6. When citing sources (direct quotation or paraphrasing), the in-text citation rules apply:
The author's last name (include the first initial only if there are two authors being cited in the paper with the same last name) followed by the year of publication, a colon and the page number(s). (This is the standard procedure in anthropological publications). Quotation marks should be used where appropriate, as in the examples below.
Example #1: "The moon is made of green cheese" (McDonald 1989:123).
Example #2: According to Williams, the moon is made of fried green tomatoes (1988:19-23).
8. If you have experienced a burst of energy and ambition and have done some additional reading not assigned in the syllabus (unlikely but not impossible), then you should cite the authors as above.
9. You must include a bibliography with full references at the end of the paper.
Good luck! Contact me at if you have any other questions.
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[1] Graduate students: Please follow these standards for your final paper as well!